A trip to the grocery store in Blagoveshchensk

Russia is a huge nation, so to extrapolate my experiences in Blagoveshchensk and say they are indicative of Russian culture would be small-minded and arrogant. Sure, these behaviors and cultural differences may be the norm for Russia as a whole, but they could also very well be an aberration occurring only in a small town in Far East Russia on the China border. Either way, I am only really offering a snapshot of the culture that I experience while living in Blagoveshchensk.

Standing in line at the grocery store, I have my cart as close to the guy in front of me as I feel comfortable. This isn’t a standard American 6 inches or so because the lines are smaller, and I know that Russians have no personal space when it comes to lines. I am about an inch away. For me, it’s enough space that if he shifts back a little no one gets hit or touches anything. My wife, who is Russian, says to me, “Honey, you’ve got to get closer, or someone is going to cut in line.” I think if I get any closer, I’ll be riding on that guy’s heals. Still I push my cart ahead a little to make her feel better.

On another trip, I am standing in line with my cart and the woman behind me bumps into my butt. I move a little bit forward and she hits me again, not hard but just so her cart is on my butt. I move a little bit forward, and she puts her cart on my butt again. I should have just sat down on her cart and let her push me to the register. (When we get home, my wife confirms that this is normal.)

I have been in the store and brushed by multiple times. A couple of times, store employees ran into me. There was no word of apology or even acknowledgement. Just, brush and keep on going like I wasn’t standing there. I didn’t get knocked down, it didn’t hurt, but it is the kind of thing that would elicit at least an excuse in most of the U.S., at least the places where I have lived.​Only once did anyone acknowledge a touch. I was wandering around the store with the cart and no idea where I was going. A guy decided to pass me on the right. He hummed a tune as I veered toward his cart, and his girlfriend said, “Excuse us” as they both laughed their way past me.